Valentine's Day Gifts
Feb 14, 2024 10:10 pm
Valentine’s Day.
That name tends to strike fear in the bosom of single women everywhere.
I don’t have any words of wisdom for you. Just my own experiences.
I’ve struggled with singleness for several years. It was always my hope and dream—(except when I was a rebellious teen convinced all I wanted to do was write and that meant I couldn’t possibly be a mother and wife as well!)
I’m 23 and haven’t a prospect in sight. Women in my family were all married by 23. It’s hard to feel like I haven’t earned it. It’s difficult to be resigned without hoping the resignation will win me what I want.
Recently I sat down and made a list of why I want to get married:
Feeling chosen/valued
Intimacy
Always having someone “at hand” to help me out/talk to/etc
Being understood
Building my dream life
Having a purpose
Having my own home
Not being in charge of my life
Feeling “productive”
In case you didn’t notice—it’s all about me. It’s all very selfish. It’s shirking responsibility. It’s expecting things to go as I wish. It’s replacing JESUS.
Those things aren’t bad. But I need to find all of them in Him first, or they won’t satisfy me in someone else. I heard a woman say recently, “If you can’t trust God, how are you going to trust your husband?” And that hit hard.
The reality is, He’s enough. He is strong for me. He is good and truly loves me. He values me and chose me. He had a purpose for me. He has a plan and life for me to walk in that I can’t compare to others and that I must trust will make me happiest. He is the best friend and advisor anyone could ever have. If I can’t build intimacy—real closeness—with Jesus (which I honestly struggle with), how can I build it with anyone else? And He’s the only one who can ever always be available and 100% understanding.
The truth is, God did choose me. He’s the original valentine.
Reflecting on this helps reposition my vision and redefine my goals. It’s only been a few days, but I feel a lot closer to Him already. I admit it’s not easy when I see women my age or younger sharing pictures of their “perfect life,” but my life won’t be perfect when I get a man and a house and a teaset. It will only ever be perfect when God is 100% woven into it.
I hope your Valentine’s Day is blessed by the presence of the Real Valentine, and if you have a human valentine too, I hope you can rejoice in that too. If you’re looking for joy today, may I gently recommend giving joy to someone? Blessing other single sisters, or family members, or literally anyone, would be a beautiful gesture to them, and make it hard for your heart not to find some happiness too. :)
Keep reading for the promised Valentine’s Day gifts!
{ Recent Blog Posts }
|| God Help Me
|| Rambling Reflections on Another Year Round the Sun
|| Hello, 2024, the Year of Giving
|| The Indie Writers’ Blogcast Chapter 1: Definitions Every Writer Should Know
|| Goodbye, 2023, Year of Restoration
|| The End of the Year + New Year’s Book Tags // 2023 Edition
|| Spell the Month in Books // June-December
|| November Wrap-Up // 2023 Edition
|| The Indie Writers’ Blogcast Prologue: Welcome to the Blogcast!
|| March – October 2023 Wrap-Up
{ Recent Reviews }
|| “Tomorrow Isn’t Promised” by Chelsea Burden
|| “Love’s Enduring Promise” by Janette Oke
|| “The Haunted Bridge” by Carolyn Keene
|| “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
|| “Frontier Wolf” by Rosemary Sutcliff
|| “The Mystery Code” by Kathryn Kenny
|| “A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
|| “Then There Were Five” by Elizabeth Enright
|| “The Whispering Statue” by Carolyn Keene
|| “Hazelby Priors” by Courtenay Burden
|| “When the Stars Shine Again” by Lucy Peterson
|| “The Silver Branch” by Rosemary Sutcliff
|| “Love Comes Softly” by Janette Oke
|| “In the High Valley” by Susan Coolidge
+ many others to be found at Old-Fashioned Book Love.
{ Book Spotlights }
I have two spotlights for you today.
Come back home to a small-town Christmas through the ages...
From its founding to the present day, Homewood, Minnesota’s open arms always offer a shining Moravian star and a Christmas to remember. Journey with the first family to settle in Homewood as they embark from the East. Stick around when troubles threaten to turn Homewood into another ghost town. Follow a song of hope and an old violin in the aftermath of war. Sit with a hurting couple in need of a Christmas miracle to complete their family. Stay close to a young woman as she struggles to find hope in the midst of rejection. Witness an aunt learning how much family truly means. Visit with a new neighbor who isn’t sure what she is looking for.
Throughout these seven heartwarming stories, watch Christmas light and love transform even the coldest places into a little corner of heaven on earth. No matter what the season may hold, the love of God sent to earth in the form of a human baby always proves abundantly sufficient—and the Christmas stars of Homewood live to testify of His story!
I was supposed to share about this back in October, but I forgot. *hides* It wasn’t because the book is mediocre. Oh my heart, I think I love it even more than A Homewood Christmas!! And yet so far I’ve only read To Follow the Star by Courtenay Burden and The Star Over All by Chelsea Burden. But they’re both SO good and I can’t wait to read the rest of the stories. I highly recommend this series! Read it for Christmas in July, or save it for next Christmas—but however you read it, get it!
Add on Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon | Read my Review
And the second is…
Daisy is determined to help her brother thrive,
Jeremiah seeks a second chance with Pace,
Katy longs for adventure and romance,
June finds herself seeking solace at church,
Lore makes a new friend…
…all at Valentine’s Day.
Join Abigayle Claire (inspired by Charlotte’s Web), Sarah Holman (inspired by Pride & Prejudice), J. Grace Pennington (inspired by Northanger Abbey), Kellyn Roth (inspired by The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), and Kate Willis (inspired by Little Town on the Prairie) as they share stories full of hope, faith, and love.
I've only read Kellyn’s story so far (read my 5-star review here!), but I am super excited to read the other novellas. They’re by some of my favourite authors, and retellings of some of my favourite books! I’m reading Daisy’s Heart right now and it’s so precious!! This is the last Very Bookish Anthology collection, and it will be leaving forever very soon, so grab this book while you can!
Add on Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon
{ Film Spotlight }
In a small town, Insurance investigator Sam Donovan finds everyone strangely silent about the recent death of a heavily insured man whom everybody hated. In spite of the sheriff’s reticent cooperation, Donovan discovers the man may have been murdered and begins to pursue an investigation, upsetting the whole town. And soon Donovan find that romance and detective work might not flow smoothly together…
Since we’re going with a Christmas and romance theme in the spotlights, here’s a film with BOTH! I watched this on a whim and I was not disappointed. It’s one of my favourite vintage films and mystery films. It’s just funny and sweet and realistic and old-fashioned… and pretty. ;) Full review here!
{ Freebies }
And now here’s the promised Valentine’s Day gifts. Today I have some freebies and $0.99 books to share about! I’ve read and loved most of these, so I’m very excited to share about them. You can find all the links and my reviews in this blog post.
I partnered up with some friends for the Bouquet of Books sale, but I’ve also added some extra freebies in my blog post! For a quick overview, we have Madisyn Carlin, Andrea Renee Cox, Abigail Kay Harris, M.L. Milligan, Kaytlin Phillips, Angie Thompson, Chelsea Burden, Erika Mathews, Rebekah A. Morris, Kate Willis, Sarah Holman, Hannah Foster, Issabelle Perry, Saraina Whitney, Michaela Bush, Faith R. Mathewson, Thirzah… and more! Again, here’s the link:
littleblossomsforjesus.wordpress.com/2024/02/14/valentines-day-gifts/
P.S. One of the 99c books is Seize the Love, which I am in. Today is the very last day to purchase this collection!
Thanks so much for being part of this (awfully spasmodic but I am trying to do better) newsletter! 💗
Katja
